The forest learning about trees

Mogyeon-ri, the Wood Culture Experience Center at Incheon
Grand Park, has already attracted many people’s attention with its
architectural beauty. Completed in January last year, this site has won
the 25th World Architecture Award, while the kinetic architecture
on the exterior wall has also won the Concept Division of the 2017
Red Dot Design Awards, one of the three major design awards in
the world. You actually see rocks before you see wood when you go
to Mogyeonri. The gray concrete forms a massive, modern triangle,
presenting modern sense. The main building to the right forms the
larger triangle, while the gate to the left forms a smaller triangle. The
two triangles come together to form an even larger triangle.

About
8 to 9 ‘ㅅ’ shaped wooden panels are aligned as walls in the empty
space outside the 2nd floor of the gate and the main building. This
‘open wall’ separates Mogyeonri from the surrounding forests, and highlights the green view of the arboretum when viewed from the
inside. This is the Ambiance Wall that symbolizes Mogyeonri. This
wooden screen represents the traditional door frame of Korea, and
displays different patterns on different angles for your visual pleasure.
Also, the layers of ‘ㅅ’ shapes on the Ambiance Wall are enlarged and
shrunken according to the movement of the columns, and flutter like
the wings of a butterfly. This is kinetic architecture. The first impression
of Mogyeonri was the rather cold, concrete building, but the
hidden charm of this place was wood itself. The gray concrete walls
themselves house wooden patterns, if you look closer. The texture of
wood has been printed on the surface.

When you enter the building,
the surrounding forest can be viewed at a glance through the
open glass window. The first floor features the carpentry experience
center, where anyone, from elementary school students to grownups, can make anything with wood. Go up to the second floor, the rich
scent of wood dominates the ambience. The scent comes from the
Hinoki ornaments that are all over the ceiling. The regular alignment
of Hinoki fragments above your line of sight reminds you of
a parade of lanterns or candles. Here is the sawleaf zelkova studio
where children under 7 can handle wood with their parents. The
cute, little wooden accessories made with little hands obviously reflect
the world of imagination that is as broad as the Universe. The Cloud
Tree Playground nearby the studio is filled with wooden toys. The
pool of Hinoki balls is particularly popular among children. They
would naturally learn to love and respect nature and life. You can often
see wood and triangles at Mogyeonri. Contemplating the architectural
meaning of repetition of triangles, I suddenly came up with how
I drew trees with triangles and bars in the middle when I was a child.
Mogyeonri itself is a vast forest. No place could fake a forest when it
comes to touching and feeling wood and realize the value of trees.